Theoretical Hydrokinetic Power Potential Assessment of the U-Tapao River Basin Using GIS

Abstract

Conventional hydropower technologies such as dams have been criticized due to their negative environmental effects which have necessitated the development of new technologies for sustainable development of hydropower energy. Hydrokinetic (HK) energy is one such emerging renewable energy technology and, in this study, a theoretical potential assessment was done using a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model, for the U-Tapao river basin (URB), a major tributary of the Songkhla lake basin (SLB) in southern Thailand. The SWAT was calibrated and validated with SWAT calibration and uncertainty (SWAT-CUP)-SUFI 2 programs using the observed discharge data from the gauging stations within the watershed. The model performance was evaluated based on the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2) values, achieving 0.62 and 0.60, respectively, for calibration, and 0.65 and 0.68 for validation which is considered acceptable and can be used to represent flow estimation. The theoretical HK potential was estimated to be 71.9 MW along the 77.18 km U-Tapao river, which could be developed as a renewable and reliable energy source for the communities living around the river. The method developed could also be applied to river systems around the world for resource and time efficient HK potential assessments.

Suitable Site Selection for Solar-Based Green Hydrogen in Southern Thailand Using GIS-MCDM Approach

“…The GIS-based technique was used for the wind power potential assessment of the Cordoba province of Spain, which was previously considered unsuitable for such an assessment [19]. A hydrokinetic power potential assessment was completed for the U-Tapao river in Southern Thailand using GIS and SWAT analysis [20]. The estimation of biomass energy production from agriculture residue was carried out using GIS in India, where areas with huge agricultural residue were mapped to be used for the production of bioenergy [21].…”

Effects of source digital elevation models in assessment of gross runoff-river hydropower potential: A case study of West Rapti Basin, Nepal

“…(Pandey et al, 2019(Pandey et al, , 2020Pokhrel, 2018;Talchabhadel et al, 2021). SWAT integrated with GIS have also been used across the various watershed for the identification of hydropower potential sites and estimation of basin potential (Ali et al, 2020;Guiamel & Lee, 2020;Kusre et al, 2010;Pandey et al, 2015;Sammartano et al, 2019). The GRHP of the discretized stream reaches were estimated based on the difference in elevation derived from the DEM and the discharges at different PoE simulated by the SWAT model.…”